Mobile classified materials disintegrator



2 SheetsSheet 1 H. Z. SMITH Nov. 1, 1966 MOBILE CLASSIFIED MATERIALS DISINTEGRATOR Filed Sept. 17, 1963 HAROLD Z S II IIII Nov. 1, 1966 H. 2. SMITH MOBILE CLASSIFIED MATERIALS DISINTEGRA'IOH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 17

INVENTOR United States Patent 3,282,515 MOBILE CLASSIFIED MATERIALS DISINTEGRATOR Harold Z. Smith, Tyler, Tex., assignor to J. B. Sedberry, Inc., Tyler, Tex., a corporation of Tennessee Filed Sept. 17, 1963, Ser. No. 309,551 1 Claim. (Cl. 241-48) This invention relates to a device for reducing classified material such as papers, books, plans and the like to an impalpable fineness so that none of the material as it comes from the machine can be identified.

In many industries, including the Federal Government, various types of paper documents, plans, books, and the like have for the most part heretofore been burned in an incinerator. However, burning does not completely destroy everything to the point that it is totally beyond recognition. While it has been proposed to grind this type of material, following the lead of grain mills or similar reduction apparatus, nevertheless, they do not meet the requirement of total destruction.

In the case of large industries and the Federal Government, the volume of material to be destroyed is usually of considerable magnitude, and, for that reason, it is desirable to mount an apparatus of the type described herein on a mobile body or truck. In that way, the apparatus can be moved to a receiving point, and when full, carried to an appropriate dumping site where the material will be so fine that it will readily mix with earth or similar material without difficulty.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a mobile self-contained disintegrating unit, having considerable capacity, and in which the paper or similar material is quickly and positively ground in a hammer mill and fed to a fluid circuit leading to the collecting chamber which, when filled, can be readily discharged at a designated point.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and practical arrangement of fiues for conveying air and entrained fine material to the collection chamber, and at the same time, prevent particles of extreme fineness from escaping and polluting the atmosphere during the disintegrating operation.

With the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination, an-d arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the mobile disintegrating unit.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view.

FIG. 3 is a detail perspective view of the collection head for the collection receptacle.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

It will be observed from the drawing that the mobile unit includes a truck or van bed designated generally as A' which may be supported at its rear end on conventional wheels B, while its forward end C is adapted to be connected to a tractor T. In the event that the unit is to remain in a location for any length of time, the bed A is provided with a supporting gear D which may be lowered as desired.

Referring to the apparatus involved, the bed A has mou-nted on the front end thereof a suitable motor M, preferably of the diesel type and having an external drive wheel 1 which imparts power through belt 2 to the pulley 3a of the jack shaft assembly of a disintegrator unit such as a hammer mill 4 resting on the bed A. The shaft 3 at Patented Nov. 1, 1966 the side of the apparatus having the belt 2 is also provided with a drive belt 5 for supplying power to a wheel 5a of a reduction gear box which in turn actuates a belt and raw material feeder assembly 6, 7, 8 for insuring that material to be ground is fed into the hammer mill casing 4a by the conveyor 8.

The shaft 3 extends through the mill and constitutes the hammer shaft, while the end opposite the drive pulley 3a has a direct connection 9 with a forced air fan 10. This fan is located within a casing having an outlet section 11 communicating with a main flow duct 12 through which air and entrained material passes in the direction of the arrow 12a through the outlet 13 which is tangential to an annular dust precipitating and distributing head 14 mounted on a relatively deep box-like dust accumulator or bulk storage chamber 15 whose rear end is closed by doors 15a. Thus, air with entrained dust moves vortically about the axis of said head and is precipitated into the said chamber 15 which forms the body of the vehicle, and thence settles onto a conveyor 16 overlying the bed of the body for carrying material toward the rear end of the dust collecting chamber. This conveyor is in the form of an endless belt substantially coextensive with the bottom of the chamber 15 and is mounted on rollers operated by a suitable operator controlled hydraulic motor. The chamber may be filled to capacity before being dumped by opening doors 15a and then moving the conveyor so that its upper flight travels rearwardly.

As will be observed from FIG. 2, the precipitating head 14 is provided with a medially and radially disposed outlet 17 leading to a return flow duct 18 which enters the top of the hammer mill as indicated at 19. The duct means 12-13 and 17-19 constitute a closed circuit between the collector and the hammer mill or disintegrating unit wherein the pressure is balanced to obtain the desired continuity of material flow to insure complete disintegration.

In addition, the precipitating head 14 has a top wall 14 provided with an elevated section 20 of small diameter and which communicates with an opening 21 in said top Wall and having its axis coinciding with the axis ofthe head 14. The diameter of the section 20 is approximately onehalf of the diameter of the head 14. Thus, the spent air and extreme fines that do not settle in the chamber 15 pass through the duct 22 into cyclone 23 whose outlet opens downwardly into a porous fines arrestor bag 24 which holds the dust while permitting the air to escape.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that material fed into the hammer mill M is ground to impalpable fineness an-d the fan system picks up this fine material and carries it through duct 12-13 to the head 14. A large part of the suspended material is recirculated back to the hammer mill, while air containing fines that have not been deposited in the chamber 15 are removed therefrom and collected in the 'bag 24. In addition, the upper port of the cyclone 23 is provided with a filter bag 25 which also serves to permit air escape and at the same time obtain the desired retention and precipitation of fines.

The hammer mill 4 has its hammers arranged in a staggered pattern that will cover the entire rotor space when the rotor is in operation. The speed of the tips of the hammers in this unit ranges from 20,000 to 25,000 feet per minute. It is preferable to set the tips of the hammers 'to approximately A of an inch from the screens. Less space between the hammer tip and the screen is critical to this extent; for extremely fine grinds of material, it would be advantageous that the hammer tip be very close to the screen and that more hammers be used in the rotor. In the case of classified materials this is not critical and the is an advantage for destroying all types of paper, etc. Paper is very difficult to pulverize to the extent that it cannot be recognized as having been letters, prints, etc.

The staggered hammer have the efiect of maintaining an air space in the mill housing which temporarily retains the material ground by the hammers and beats them in a manner that aids in their reduction when they are thrown back into the mill casing.

While the system is called a dry system, a sprinkler system is used. Three spray nozzles N are preferably used. These nozzles are adjustable and they spray water in a mist. Pressure is derived from a water pump oommunica-ting with a water storage tank. The material is dry leaving the hammer mill and the mist of water merely controls the dust and the material i not considered as wet as it accumulates in the trailer van. This feature serves another purpose, namely, if paper clips and small metal objects are passed through the machine, they many times become very hot, so the spray of water controls a possible fire within the van which would cause an exhaust through the filter bags, thereby burning them.

The head 14 does not extend into the body of the van at all, therefore, the mobile unit involves more of a problem concerning air velocity than other models of disintegrators. There must be enough velocity to move the material to the extreme rear of the van, allowing it to fill from the rear without the assistance of a conveyor, and to have this degree of velocity is more than needed to merely throw the material into the unit; therefore, the excessive air must be disposed of and this has been accomplished by the two bags, 25 being the filter bag that allows excessive air to escape, and 24 being a bag that will collect a small amount of material that exhausts beyond a point of gravity discharge into the unit. One small bag of this material accumulates during the loading of the van. The operator may have two bags to empty from duct 22 during one days operation, but this is not an inconvenience whatsoever. The bag is dumped while the unit is discharging automatically; therefore, no time is wasted.

This being a dustless operation requires two exhaust outlets, one returning to the mill itself, and the other to the filter bag. As shown, there is the top section of a collector with no exhausts and without a cone section. The trailer van itself acts as the bottom section of the collector.

I claim:

In an apparatus for reducing classified material to an impalpable fine powder, the combination comprising,

an accumulator chamber including top, side, bottom and end walls for collecting powdered material,

a motor driven high speed disintegrator mill,

means for feeding raw material into said mill,

a fan at the exhaust side of the hammer mill,

.a dust precipitating and distributing head rising from and communicating with the top wall of said chamber, said head comprising a circular outer wall and a superimposed elevated top wall together forming a material receiving chamber which is shallow in depth as compared with the depth of the accumulator chamber, the top wall of said head having an opening of smaller diameter than said head, said opening located over the vortex area of the dust eddy area of said head when the apparatus is in operation to take oif recoverable fines,

a main duct for conveying air and entrained pulverized material from the fan and directing it tangentially to said head,

a return flow duct disposed radially to the axis of said head and leading back to the hammer mill,

an air escape duct on top of said head communicating with said top wall opening,

a cyclone for receiving dust discharged from said air escape duct,

and upper and lower fines collecting bags disposed axially one above the other and communicating with the cyclone.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,312,658 8/1919 Williams 24l48 1,356,292 10/1920 Kennedy 24148 1,882,329 10/ 1932 Kreisinger 209-114 X 3,123,312 3/1964 Palyi 241-486 X 3,192,853 7/1965 OConnor 24l-86 X 3,195,746 7/1965 Heubach 214-8328 ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner.

D. KELLY, Assistant Examiner. 

